We cant afford to offer him more than a mil Id have reckoned - unless theres some clever wheeling and dealing done.

Fact is the Pies can offer him 1.5 and we can't. Unlesd hes happy to come to us for significant unders (which may happen ) then we miss out.

Heres hoping!

Martin's contract may have been heavily front end loaded as the salary cap went up so we could manage all the increases for this to happen.

If we have done this then Martin could be on $800/900 a season for the last 5 years of the contract.

Reading back.my own comment; pretty dumb thing to state so emphatically.

Im just assuming. Maybe we can make room, maybe we cant. If Dusty is front loaded so that its only 800-900 a year for the last few (which I highly doubt, I would expect its the opposite) it means hes on about 1.6 - 1.7 right now. I dont see it.

We cant afford to offer him more than a mil Id have reckoned - unless theres some clever wheeling and dealing done.

Fact is the Pies can offer him 1.5 and we can't. Unlesd hes happy to come to us for significant unders (which may happen ) then we miss out.

Heres hoping!

Martin's contract may have been heavily front end loaded as the salary cap went up so we could manage all the increases for this to happen.

If we have done this then Martin could be on $800/900 a season for the last 5 years of the contract.

Reading back.my own comment; pretty dumb thing to state so emphatically.

Im just assuming. Maybe we can make room, maybe we cant. If Dusty is front loaded so that its only 800-900 a year for the last few (which I highly doubt, I would expect its the opposite) it means hes on about 1.6 - 1.7 right now. I dont see it.

It was a masterstroke of planning to have Martin's contract up for renewal the year there is a massive increase in the over Total Player Payments.

Martin would have already been on say $650/700 per year on the old contract. And North were offering huge $ so an big up front payment in the first year or two would be the way to go and then he falls back to the $900 per year. Only takes half of the increase to achieve the $1.7million and then there is room to attract another top line player. Could even see the payment in year one being as high as $2.5million.

The increases in other player contracts are covered by Deledio, Yarran and Maric exiting our TPP

NEWLY re-signed Richmond coach Damien Hardwick says he would love to secure free agent Tom Lynch and would make room for his massive salary next year.

But the Tigers coach says he finds the process of meeting and wooing rival players in-season unedifying and discomforting.

As forecast in the Herald Sun last month, Hardwick has signed a contract extension before Round 1 that will take him past Tom Hafey’s remarkable Tigers tenure.

That three-year deal until 2021 will take his reign to 12 years, the Tigers on Tuesday lauding the 45-year-old’s ability to build a winning culture.

Under AFL rules clubs are allowed to meet with rival players and their managers mid-year to pitch for their services.

Clearly Lynch would be an ideal fit for Richmond and a perfect succession plan or foil for star premiership forward Jack Riewoldt, who turns 30 in October.

In a Fox Footy interview to be broadcast during Wednesday night’s Richmond-Kangaroos game, Hardwick makes clear the Tigers will be a contender for Lynch’s services.

“The quality of player who Tom is is incredible,” he said.

“Those sort of players very rarely come out of contract, especially with free-agency … to not cost draft picks, you probably make room for that type of player.

“He’s an incredible athlete, great player and a great leader by all accounts. The quality of those sort of players don’t come out often, so you’ve got to have a look at it.”

Asked how far out from his contract expiration on October 31 the Tigers would talk to Lynch, the premiership coach was frank.

“You are actually allowed to do this. We do talk to players that are out of contract … It’s an uncomfortable situation because I’m talking to opposition players and opposition clubs are talking to my players, it’s probably not a great look for our game.

“I’d rather it just took place at the end of the year. This is prior to Round 1 — we’re already speaking about Tom Lynch who’s got a whole year to play at a club that he’s heavily invested in.

“Look we do (meet them). It’s not something I overly enjoy doing. I love meeting the kids, they’re great. The worst thing about being the coach is you fall in love with every single one of them. You want them all at your footy club. It’s part and parcel of what we do.”

Hardwick has in the past called for an anti-tampering rule that means clubs can’t discuss rival players while they are in contract.

As the hottest property on the free agency market, the 25-year-old star forward’s signature looms as the storyline of the 2018 season.

“How Richmond goes with the big deal they had to do with Dustin Martin, and how that impacts is something I don’t know, but if they are in the financial market then certainly they have to," Wallace told SEN Afternoons.

“The fact you know you might have 90,000 members that you will play in front of…there are so many things that have them (Richmond) stumped up the equal of anyone else.”

Wallace expects the Tigers' premiership defence to be in stark contrast to that of the Bulldogs last season, with another pointy end finish on the cards for the reigning premier.

Coach Damien Hardwick, himself the beneficiary of a newly inked three-year contract extension, took the unusual step of endorsing the recruitment of Lynch two weeks out from the season opener.

“The quality of those sorts of players don’t come out (of contract) often, so you’ve got to have a look at it,” he said.

Other clubs likely to make a spirited run at the Suns' co-captain include St Kilda, North Melbourne, Collingwood and Hawthorn. St Kilda is desperate to land a big fish to endorse it as a destination club while North Melbourne has the salary cap space to outbid any of its Victorian rivals.

Since being drafted with the 11th overall pick at the 2010 draft Lynch has kicked 234 goals from 121 matches. He does not turn 26 until October 30.

As the hottest property on the free agency market, the 25-year-old star forward’s signature looms as the storyline of the 2018 season.

“How Richmond goes with the big deal they had to do with Dustin Martin, and how that impacts is something I don’t know, but if they are in the financial market then certainly they have to," Wallace told SEN Afternoons.

“The fact you know you might have 90,000 members that you will play in front of…there are so many things that have them (Richmond) stumped up the equal of anyone else.”

Wallace expects the Tigers' premiership defence to be in stark contrast to that of the Bulldogs last season, with another pointy end finish on the cards for the reigning premier.

Coach Damien Hardwick, himself the beneficiary of a newly inked three-year contract extension, took the unusual step of endorsing the recruitment of Lynch two weeks out from the season opener.

“The quality of those sorts of players don’t come out (of contract) often, so you’ve got to have a look at it,” he said.

Other clubs likely to make a spirited run at the Suns' co-captain include St Kilda, North Melbourne, Collingwood and Hawthorn. St Kilda is desperate to land a big fish to endorse it as a destination club while North Melbourne has the salary cap space to outbid any of its Victorian rivals.

Since being drafted with the 11th overall pick at the 2010 draft Lynch has kicked 234 goals from 121 matches. He does not turn 26 until October 30.

The full details behind Damien Hardwick's intriguing comments about out of contract Gold Coast forward Tom Lynch are slowly coming to the surface, and it doesn't paint a pretty picture.

In yesterday's Herald Sun, Hardwick was quoted as saying “the quality of those sorts of players don’t come out (of contract) often, so you’ve got to have a look at it,” when he was asked about Lynch and whether or not chatting to out of contract players during the season is a variable option.

However, the Tigers have since apologised about the comments, while Richmond head of footy Neil Balme disagreed with Hardwick's views yesterday.

Another element to the drama is that Fox Footy edited out the Lynch part of the interview which aired during the JLT Community Series match against North Melbourne, and SEN newsman Sam Edmund has attempted to piece together what is happening behind the scenes.

"If you were watching the pre-recorded Hardwick interview on Fox Footy last night, there was no mention of Lynch," he told SEN Breakfast.

"We suspect this has been since cut out because it emerged yesterday that Richmond had apologised to the Gold Coast.

"Specifically, we understand it to be (list manager) Blair Hartley who rang (CEO) Mark Evans at the Suns, I have checked with the Suns and this is correct. An apology was forthcoming."

Three-time premiership player Tim Watson added Gold Coast is "outraged" with the way the situation has played out in the media.

The Tigers also aren't happy with proceedings.

"Richmond are filthy as well," Edmund said.

"The interview was recorded weeks and weeks ago, and then Jon Ralph wrote the story. He quoted the coach, which is all you can do.

"They're angry. They didn't say it directly, but you get the vibe he might have been taken a bit out of context and the timing was off.

"It's an absolute mess."

After the Tigers' win over the Kangaroos last night, Hardwick said the apology was "news to me" and he wasn't sure what the club was apologising for.

Richmond have confirmed they have contacted the Gold Coast Suns regarding Damien Hardwick’s comments on Tom Lynch, but the Tigers are adamant they did not issue an apology because they “have nothing to apologise for”.

In an interview that was meant to air on Fox Footy on Wednesday night, and appeared in News Corp papers on Tuesday, Hardwick spoke openly about his admiration for the Suns captain, who is out of contract at season’s end.

The Age understands that Richmond’s list manager Blair Hartley contacted his Gold Coast counterpart Craig Cameron and Suns CEO Mark Evans to apologise for the comments.

But while the Tigers confirmed contact was made, they were adamant no one said sorry.

“We certainly have done nothing to apologise for, (the contact) was just on the back of the article, just to make sure they’re OK,” Richmond footy boss Neil Balme told The Age.

“Any conversation that Blair has with them was between him and them, but we certainly didn’t apologise because we’ve got nothing to apologise for.

“The problem with the article is that it was written as if it was done (after Hardwick re-signed). It was recorded ages ago.”

Balme explained that Hardwick was asked a series of questions in a pre-recorded interview conducted weeks ago that would be aired during their second JLT clash with North Melbourne.

“He was asked: would you be interested? Like 17 clubs his response was: of course we would be!

“If he had his time again what he would say is: I don’t comment on contracted players.

“Whilst we are sensitive to it because we went through the same thing with Dusty last year, it was certainly not an apology.

Hardwick’s comments have not gone down well with the Suns, including Evans, who left his position at the AFL to help turn the franchise around.

The Age understands that several key figures at the Gold Coast were also expecting Hardwick himself to make direct contact with the club to issue an apology.

“Those sort of players very rarely come out of contract, especially with free agency … to not cost draft picks, you probably make room for that type of player,” Hardwick said in the interview.

“He’s an incredible athlete, great player and a great leader by all accounts. The quality of those sort of players don’t come out often, so you’ve got to have a look at it

“You are actually allowed to do this. We do talk to players that are out of contract … It’s an uncomfortable situation because I’m talking to opposition players and opposition clubs are talking to my players, it’s probably not a great look for our game.

“I’d rather it just took place at the end of the year. This is prior to round one — we’re already speaking about Tom Lynch who’s got a whole year to play at a club that he’s heavily invested in.

“Look, we do (meet them). It’s not something I overly enjoy doing. I love meeting the kids, they’re great. The worst thing about being the coach is you fall in love with every single one of them. You want them all at your footy club. It’s part and parcel of what we do.”

Suns coach Stuart Dew was reluctant to add fuel to the fire when asked about the situation during a media conference on Thursday.

"It's outside noise to us, whether it's from another coach, other teams, media, we're not concerned," he said.

"It happened all last year, it'll happen all next year, sometimes I'll have to deal with it, sometimes I won't.

"To be honest, it comes and goes in one day. It's a little bit irrelevant."

When contacted about the situation, the AFL said it would prefer opposition players weren’t spoken about publicly by clubs, but also stated there were no rules against it.